Pilot trips hijacker
The week's news at a glance.
Gran Canaria, Spain
A commercial pilot used his multilingual skills to outsmart and capture an armed hijacker last week. A Boeing 737 had just taken off from the African country of Mauritania with 79 people on board bound for Spain’s Canary Islands, when a man waving two guns demanded it be rerouted to France, so he could claim asylum. The Arabic-speaking pilot realized the man could not speak French, so he announced over the intercom in French that he planned to trip the hijacker upon landing, by braking hard then speeding up. The plan worked, and the hijacker fell down. Flight attendants then threw boiling water from a coffee machine in his face, and about 10 passengers jumped on him, disarmed him, and beat him.
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
-
October 13 editorial cartoons
Cartoons Monday's political cartoons include Donald Trump's consolation prize, government workers during shutdown, and more
-
Can Gaza momentum help end the war in Ukraine?
Today's Big Question Zelenskyy’s request for long-range Tomahawk missiles hints at ‘warming relations’ between Ukraine and US
-
The Israeli hostages and Palestinian prisoners being released
The Explainer Triumphant Donald Trump addresses the Israeli parliament as families on both sides of the Gaza war reunite with their loved ones